This Suuuper Common Hotel Customer Practice Is Now Being Deemed Pointless, But I Refuse To Stop

Yahoo

19-05-2025

It seems whenever I hop onto the internet, I learn that something I view as a standard practice isn't actually as common as I would've thought. From unique hygiene rituals to dating 101, nothing is what it seems.
But one thing I truly believed to be a universal rule was hotel checkout — as in, when you're done with your stay, you return to the hotel's main lobby to return your key, pay any outstanding balances, and check out.
So, imagine my surprise when I realized some people literally just leave the hotel without doing so. In fact, the act of checking out is now being deemed a "boomer" activity, according to this X (formerly known as Twitter) user — "Boomers will literally wait in a hotel line to tell someone at the front desk that they are 'checking out' instead of just going home."
The responses to that tweet were split, with some people saying checking out of hotels is a courtesy, while others considered it a waste of time:
Editor's Note: While we can't endorse what X has become, we can bring you the worthwhile moments that still exist there, curated and free of the surrounding chaos.
"lol I am shocked every time I learn people still 'check out.'"
"Checking out of a hotel is a litmus test of character, like returning a shopping cart. It's a 5 second task that makes someone else's life easier. I'm team Boomer here idk."
"I work at a hotel, lol just leave man."
"This is basic courtesy. Return your key cards, and confirm checkout. This way they know the room's available to be cleaned etc."
"OMG my mom.. we were just in Costa Rica.. she said 'we gotta take these cards downstairs,' I was like 'girl, let's go"
Some argued that checking out helps avoid any unnecessary or incorrect charges that may have been applied to your room:
While others mentioned checking out not only helps the staff, but it also helps patrons who are checking in:
"You know why there are rarely rooms available for early check-in? Because Millenials don't let the hotel know they've already gone home, so the room isn't refreshed."
"Honestly, it's kind of rude not to check out. People are always looking to check in early, and that is harder when people don't check out. Also, we recently [got] charged a $400 smoking fee (and we don't smoke). If we didn't check out, that may have gone unnoticed."
"It's courtesy to at least give the front desk your key. They update the housekeeping list to reflect checkouts so they can clean. My daughter was a regional manager of a hotel chain."
Despite the online discourse, I will proudly continue to check out of any and every hotel I stay at. Now, I want to know where you stand on this debate. Let me know your opinion on checking out below in the comments.